Under cover of darkness on 9 June 2025, the Madleen—a modest British-flagged aid ship carrying baby formula, rice, and medical supplies—found itself surrounded by Israeli naval forces some 100-160 km off Gaza’s coast. The activists onboard, including Greta Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan, had hoped to draw attention to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Instead, they got an up-close demonstration of Israel’s naval blockade enforcement. Footage shows the group—calm but determined—raising their hands as Israeli commandos boarded, their life jackets serving as unintentional symbols of how perilous compassion has become in these waters.

An itchy situation

Activists reported that before boarding, Israeli drones sprayed the ship with an unknown irritant, turning their peaceful mission into something resembling a badly planned chemistry experiment. What was it?

  1. Most likely, it was some variety of tear gas or irritant powder—standard fare for crowd control, though usually deployed on land, not at sea. A maritime twist on the classic “please disperse, but also mind the waves” strategy.
  2. Imagine if it was just … flour. A culinary misunderstanding gone awry. “We thought they were smuggling baguettes!” cried the drone operator, as activists coughed and blinked in a cloud of organic, stone-ground whole wheat.
  3. A theatrical flourish—coating the ship in white chalk like a ghostly protest banner, ensuring the Madleen looked appropriately haunted as it was towed to Ashdod.
  4. A secret tracking compound! Now every activist unknowingly carries a microscopic beacon, allowing Mossad to monitor their future café orders and library visits. (Note: This is not confirmed. But neither was the drone attack on the Conscience, so… narrows eyes.)
  5. Nature’s own crowd control. Poseidon himself took one look at the flotilla and sighed, “Not this again,” before hosing them down with frothy indignation.

In reality, it was almost certainly a chemical irritant—a way to disorient activists before boarding without (overtly) violating laws against lethal force. But the vagueness is telling. After all, if it were truly harmless, why not just admit it?

Whatever it was, it’s now part of the Madleen’s legacy—a chalky, coughing footnote in the absurd theater of Gaza’s blockade. And if history is any guide, the next ship will pack goggles.

“First they ignore you, then they spray you with mystery powder, then you win.” —Gandhi (probably, if he’d dealt with naval commandos).

The diplomatic fallout

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) called the seizure a blatant breach of international law, pointing to recent ICJ rulings on Gaza aid access. Israel, meanwhile, dismissed the activists as “provocateurs”—a curious label for people whose greatest crime appears to be packing rice and bandages.

Hamas, never subtle, branded the interception “state terrorism”, while Turkey and Iran chimed in with accusations of “piracy”.

Back in Ashdod, Israeli authorities prepared a special welcome package for the detained activists: compulsory viewing of footage from the 7 October attacks, because nothing fosters understanding like forced screenings.

Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine offered a glimmer of solidarity, suggesting this was merely “the first chapter” in a longer struggle.

Why the Madleen mattered

This was no ordinary protest voyage. The Madleen represented the latest attempt to challenge Israel’s 17-year blockade of Gaza, a policy that has turned the strip into what the UN calls a “humanitarian hellscape”. With one in five Gazans now facing famine, the activists’ cargo—modest as it was—symbolised something radical: the idea that people should not starve under collective punishment.

A flicker of hope?

The activists may have been detained, but their message wasn’t. As Spanish diplomats lodged protests and Amnesty International condemned the seizure, something else became clear: the world is watching. The Madleen didn’t reach Gaza, but it sailed far enough to remind us that blockades are made to be broken—and that the next ship might just make it.

After all, history has a funny way of siding with those who carry food instead of weapons. The Madleen’s journey ended in Ashdod, but the tide? That’s still turning.

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